White-Nose Syndrome is a devastating fungal disease that has killed over 90% of some North American bat species, causing massive population-level welfare losses with ripple effects through ecosystems.
White-Nose Syndrome represents one of the largest-scale wildlife welfare emergencies in North American history. Infected bats experience repeated arousal from hibernation — each awakening burns critical fat reserves — until they are too depleted to survive winter. The scale of mortality is staggering, and the welfare cost for each individual bat involves prolonged physiological stress and starvation. Beyond individual welfare, the ecological cascade from bat population collapse affects insect populations and agricultural systems that depend on bat pest control services. Supporting WNS research and prevention is both a welfare and ecological imperative.